Published 11:33 am, Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Midland Mayor Jerry Morales told the Midland County Republican Women on Wednesday to expect more building in the city, no matter the price of oil.

At the group’s monthly meeting at Midland Country Club he said that 2014 was the year to plan, 2015 will be the year to build and 2016 will be the year for ribbon-cuttings.

The statistics back him up. During his presentation, Morales said 11,118 total permits were issued in 2014, up dramatically from the 9,502 in 2013. He also expects around 800 homes to built this year.

The “shovel-ready projects” Morales mentioned included road projects -- Beal Parkway, the widening or expansion of Fairgrounds and Pecos roads and the extension of Tradewinds in west Midland. Morales said Tradewinds will be extended from Thomason Drive to Business 20.

He also expects the parks upgrades to continue. Morales said the city has upgraded an average of six parks a year between 2012 and 2014 and that another six parks will get makeovers with new equipment and overall facelifts.

There are also plans for the city’s second dog park -- this one at Beal Park in the southwest portion of Midland.

Morales also said 198 tons of trash have been picked up since his “Not in My Town” initiative began. A third crew of inmates will help pick up trash along Midland’s worst corridors and lots and specific attention will be paid this year to Midland’s entry corridors, he said.

“Keep Calm and Keep Building” appeared on a slide during the presentation, and that is how the city will operate in 2015.

“We need to catch up,” Morales said. “Now with this slow play we can get construction done.”

Praise for limited government

Brooke Rollins, president & CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, spoke at the meeting on the principles of liberty and limited government. She said the outcome of the election in November 2014 and the conservative lineup of leaders in Austin make this a time for great opportunity but that conservatives can’t take their eyes off the game.

She said there will be 9,000 bills introduced during the legislative session in Austin and about 1,000 will reach the governor’s desk, so conservatives need to be aware and stay on top of representatives, senators and state leaders so that “what was promised during the campaigns is the way they lead.”

She said the foundation has three areas of interest for the upcoming legislative session: education (the minority dropout rate in urban areas is too high), conservative spending and the Environmental Protection Agency. She said the EPA is in the midst of a full-frontal assault on the states and energy producers and what they have and can do is disastrous and will compromise the future for generations to come.

A council roll call

Those in attendance included Morales and three other city council members -- Jeff Sparks, J. Ross Lacy and Sharla Hotchkiss -- a quorum of the council. No city business was executed so this was not a violation of any open meetings acts.